🔗 Share this article

Members of the jury overseeing a widely publicized Australian murder trial have been taken to the isolated shore where the young woman was located.

Toyah Cordingley was multiple times attacked with a bladed weapon and buried in a sandy grave with minimal hope of surviving, the court has heard.

The remains were discovered by her father the following day on Wangetti Beach – a stretch of coastline nestled between the popular destinations of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Rajwinder Singh, 41, has pleaded not guilty to killing Ms Cordingley on a Sunday afternoon in October 2018 in northern Australia.

Court Visit to Beach

The panel of 12 individuals plus several back-up jurors visited the location along with the presiding officer and barristers on the start of the week local time.

In a nod to the hot climate and sweltering heat, Justice Lincoln Crowley opted for a T-shirt, sport shorts and trainers rather than a wig and robes.

Both the lead prosecution and defence barristers selected casual shirts, bottoms and headwear.

Location Particulars

The court members were led around 1.2km north up the sand to see where Ms Cordingley's remains were discovered.

Earlier, as they arrived by bus, four markers showed where the vehicle had been parked.

The trip was intended to help the jurors become familiar with key locations in the trial and no testimony was presented.

Context of the Trial

Previously, the Cairns Supreme Court heard that the following day Ms Cordingley's body were found, the accused departed from Australia to India – leaving behind his spouse, family and relatives.

He was out of contact until he was apprehended four years later, the state said.

State Case

It is claimed that the defendant, who was working as a nurse in the town of Innisfail, south of Cairns, had a altercation with Ms Cordingley.

The pharmacy worker was discovered wearing a swimwear, with all her other clothes and most of her possessions absent.

Those objects were removed by the assailant to conceal evidence, the prosecution allege.

Her dog, Indie, which Ms Cordingley had taken to the beach for a walk, was located secured to a post hidden in shrubland about 30 metres from the grave.

No murder weapon was ever recovered, and no eyewitnesses have been identified.

But the state says the crown's case – though indirect – was comprised proof that pointed to Mr Singh "and eliminated others."

This will include evidence that DNA obtained from a object at the scene was 3.8 billion times more probable to have originated from Mr Singh than a unrelated individual of the public.

The jury has already heard testimony indicating that Ms Cordingley's mobile device left the beach after the incident – and that its movements matched those of a vehicle owned by the defendant.

Mr Singh's sudden departure from Australia also pointed to his involvement, the prosecution has argued.

Defense Position

"While authorities were finding Toyah's remains, he was organizing... a hurriedly arranged one way trip back to India," the prosecutor said last week as he began arguments.

The defence is has not provided testimony, but in his initial statement, the defense attorney Greg McGuire portrayed his defendant as a "placid" and "caring" man, who was in the "wrong place at the wrong time."

He also hinted at testimony to come later in the trial that, after his apprehension, Mr Singh told an undercover officer he had witnessed two masked men assault Ms Cordingley and then had fled in fear – something he said was his "biggest mistake."

Mr McGuire has also said he will testify about other people "both known and unknown" who should come under suspicion.

Additional Testimony

Ms Cordingley's partner, the witness, whom police quickly ruled out as a possible suspect, was one who testified previously.

The court was informed he was an immediate police suspect – and that he had been interrogated from Ms Cordingley's parent about whether he was implicated in his partner's vanishing, even before her body were found.

Images depicting Mr Heidenreich on a walk with a friend on the day Ms Cordingley disappeared have been shown to the jury, with an expert saying he was certain the photos were genuine and had not been doctored in any manner.

The trial will return to the standard environment of the courtroom on the next day.